Report: Lakers willing to buy out Young in committing to youth movement

The Los Angeles Lakers are moving forward in the post-Kobe Bryant era, and their vision for the future doesn't appear to include the boisterous Swaggy P.

"I would frankly be surprised if Nick Young is on the Lakers' roster at the start of the season," Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding said Tuesday in a video interview. "They've been trying to trade him for a while, they're still trying to trade him. They are willing to even buy him out, if necessary, to move on and really commit to the youth movement and let D'Angelo Russell do his thing."

The Black Mamba's departure represents a clean slate for the Lakers organization, which dedicated most of the 2015-16 regular season to properly sending off their franchise player after he spent 20 seasons in Hollywood. Now that he's gone, the team can focus more of its attention on its core of Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and rookie Brandon Ingram, with the hope that they'll be ready to take Los Angeles back to the playoffs in the not-too-distant future.

Young's numbers have been on a sharp decline since he signed with the Lakers prior to the 2013-14 campaign, with his points per game dipping to a career-low 7.3 on 33.9 percent shooting in 54 appearances last season.

The 31-year-old is signed through 2016-17 at $5.4 million per season, with a $5.6-million player option the following year.

He recently revealed that he had reconciled with Russell following a much-publicized leaked Snapchat video from the rookie, which showed Young admitting to cheating on his now ex-fiancee, rapper Iggy Azalea. Any potential lingering effect from that dilemma, paired with his dreadful production, appear to be enough for management to want him out of town.